There’s a darling new family-owned restaurant in Grand Prairie doing a different twist on Mexican: Called Asiago Mexican American Grill, it just opened in a little corporate park off SH 360, in what used to be an African buffet restaurant at 2100 N. SH 360 #2004-2005 Bldg 20.
Asiago is worth seeking out because owners Erik Escobedo and Yamile Cambron, who previously spent 17 years in catering, are pouring their heart and soul into the venture.
The restaurant serves a crowd-pleasing mix of Mexican and American classics, featuring family recipes and popular dishes from their catering days: street tacos, carne asada fries, and a burrito chile relleno, featuring a poblano pepper stuffed with mozzarella and carne asada, folded inside a tortilla.
There are tortas on hoagie-like bolillo bread with fillings such as birriera and beef asadera, topped with mayo, cilantro, mozzarella, and grilled onions.
On the American side, they offer burgers, chicken tenders, and wings in four flavors: lemon pepper, buffalo, garlic parmesan, and orange pepper.
“A lot of people in Texas are used to Tex-Mex restaurants, but this is more Mexican and traditional American,” Escobedo says.
Part of their goal is also to introduce dishes you don't find everywhere else. For example, a sincronizada — similar to a quesadilla, except that a quesadilla is a single tortilla, filled and folded. A sincronizada is more like a sandwich, with the tortillas standing in for the bread. Asiago fills theirs with cheese, chorizo, ham, and avocado.
They do Tostilocos, a Mexican street snack you won't find on many Dallas streets. It consists of Tostitos tortilla chips topped with jicama, cucumber, Japanese peanuts, and pickled pork rinds. (The name "Tostilocos" literally translates to "crazy Tostitos".)
For the workers nearby, they do breakfast every morning, with breakfast sandwiches, chilaquiles, and burritos.
“I have some customers who come at night, and if they say they want an egg burrito, I make it for them,” Escobedo says. “I don’t have a limit on the items.”
The restaurant occupies a 2,800-square-foot space with seating for 80 people. In addition to the restaurant, it's also home to a fruiteria with snacks and desserts such as churros, both regular cinnamon sugar as well as stuffed churros filled with cajeta caramel sauce. There are also fruit cups, mangonadas, and milkshakes with a dairy-free option.
There’s no alcohol although Escobedo says they may add beer plus karaoke nights on certain Fridays.
